Summer of '46
by M E Wofford
Summary: A Halloween story involving our friends from NCIS. Some TIVA.
1. Chapter 1

Summer of '46

A Halloween story involving our friends from NCIS.

I do not own NCIS or any part thereof.

Summer of '46

-1-

Ziva did not know why she had let Abby talk her into this. Of all the stupid things she had done since coming to NCIS this had to take the pie. At 11:45 on a moonless Halloween night she sat with Abby and McGee in what was supposed to be a haunted house waiting for the ghostly spirits to materialize. Tony was supposed to join them but Gibbs had finally come down on him about his overdue paperwork and Tony had had to complete his most delinquent reports before leaving for the weekend.

Abby had set up rows of black and blood red candles in the room where they sat on the floor. The flickering light made the walls appear to move and her friends' faces were only half visible. Ziva saw Abby take something out of the large bag she had brought with her.

"Here, Timmy, set up the Ouija board. I can't wait to start. This is going to be so cool! It'll be midnight in 10 minutes. We need to start right on the dot of midnight!"

Ziva took the opportunity to look around the room they had chosen. It was what Abby called the parlor. From Abby's shared research Ziva knew the house had been built in the 1880s by a large family. The last member of the family had finally died in the 1930s and the house had been broken down into apartments. However, shortly after WW II the house had gotten the reputation of being haunted and it became harder and harder to find renters. The house had basically been abandoned since the 50's. Abby had found it listed on a site about haunted houses in the D.C. greater metropolitan area. She swore it had to be really haunted because not even the homeless so prevalent in the D.C. area would spend more than one night there.

Ziva could understand why. Not only had she had the vague feeling she was being watched since walking through the door but it was cold in here. Not chilly. Chilly was outside where it was a pleasant autumn night. The cold was here in this dark room with only the tiny release of heat provided by Abby's candles. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, wishing she'd worn somethinga little heavier than her favorite hoodie.

Abby and Tim were arguing about the placement of the board. Ziva thought longingly of her bed. A glass of wine, a few chapters of READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN and she could have been in bed sleeping by now. Her days started at 0500 even on the weekends and if she left now she would barely get 4 hours sleep by the time she made the drive home and showered. She sighed and wished Abby's ghosts would appear so she could leave.

Suddenly she reached for her gun. She wasn't even aware she'd done so for a half second. She stood up and faced away from McGee and Abby looking down a hallway leading out of the room toward the back of the house. A woman stood there looking at her. She had on a dark blue suit or uniform. Her hair was short, dark and curly and her skin pale, shimmering in the slight glow from the candlelight that reached the doorway. She beckoned Ziva toward her. Ziva took a step or two in her direction. The woman turned and walked down the hallway. Ziva took another step and then she heard a woman scream. She yelled McGee's name and then took off after the mystery woman.

Tim McGee heard the woman scream and his head jerked up. Then he heard Ziva call his name and run off with her gun pulled from its holster. He jumped up, Abby by him and as he drew his gun a breeze blew through the broken glass of the windows in the parlor and the candles went out.

He knelt back down and felt around on the floor until he found the flashlight he'd brought with them. He flicked it on and shined it toward the hallway where he'd last seen Ziva.

"Ziva," he called and waited for a response.

He tried again louder. "Ziva!"

In response he heard an ominoussilence.

"ZIVA!" he yelled again to no response.

"Oh crap," Abby said.


	2. Chapter 2

Summer of '46

-2-

Tony typed slowly. Well, he always typed slowly but now he was typing really slowly. A Friday night and Abby, McGee and Ziva were at a haunted house, probably with wine and candles and a Ouija board and he was here. Damn Gibbs' timing. He couldn't have chosen a worse Friday to go all BOSS on him. Wasn't like Gibbs ever did any of his paperwork on time either.

He sighed and held his head in his hands. Almost midnight. He wondered what they were doing right now. He pictured Abby and Tim laughing, drinking and in general having a good time. He saw Ziva in his mind's eye, holding a paper cup of wine or maybe a longneck beer, watching them. She had gotten where she would join in with them when they got the giggles occasionally but most often she held back, just observing, like she wanted to play with the other kids but was afraid to ask. He wished he could get past that reserve. Sometimes he felt like he made some progress but then the wall would go back up. Face it DiNozzo, he thought,your partner is something of an enigma.

Suddenly he felt a shiver pass through his body. Brrrr…where the hell did that come from? Then his phone rang. He jumped. He gave the phone an evil look. Nothing good ever happened on Halloween and his Spidey senses began to tingle. He picked up the phone and said, "Special Agent DiNozzo. How may I assist you?"

He heard Abby yelling something in the background as McGee spoke.

"Tony, you need to get here as soon as possible. We need your help."

"Yeah, yeah, right, McScary. It's Halloween not April Fools' Day. Get your holidays straight. I'll be there as soon as…"

"No, Tony. It's no joke. Get your ass over here and bring some extra flashlights."

Tim had convinced him something wasn't right.

"Why, what's going on? What's wrong?'

Obviously Abby grabbed the phone from McGee because hers was the next voice he heard and she was loud.

"It's Ziva, Tony. We can't find her. She ran down the hall after the woman screamed and all the candles went out and Tim only has one flashlight and she won't answer us and we can't find her and, oh Tony, you need to come and bring more flashlights and…"

"Whoa, Abby. What woman, why did…you know what, never mind. Put McGee back on, okay?"

"Okay," she said in a quieter, smaller voice. "He wants you back, Tim."

"What the hell is going on, Probie? You've lost Ziva?"

"Yeah. We heard a woman scream. Ziva ran out of the room with her gun drawn. After a few seconds we heard a noise, a crumbling kind of noise, and then nothing. I've called and called for her and went down the hallway a bit but this place is like a maze. I'm worried, Tony. Get over here as fast as you can with some more flashlights, okay? Like now!"

Tony heard the unspoken fear in McGee's voice. Ziva was missing, Mossad-trained Ziva, and he was with Abby, Gibbs' favorite, a noncombatant. He couldn't go looking for Ziva without Abby and he couldn't take Abby into what could be a dangerous situation.

"Okay, McGee. You and Abby hunker down right there in a dark corner and I'll be there in 15 minutes tops. Don't leave the room."

After getting McGee's acknowledgement he hung up the phone, shrugged on his coat, got his gun, and then checked his backpack making sure there was a working flashlight in it. As he ran toward the elevator the doors opened and Gibbs stepped out.

"Those reports better be on my desk if you're leaving, DiNozzo," he said.

"Boss." Tony slid to a stop inches from Gibbs' cup of coffee, sucking in his stomach so as not to touch it and risk spilling a single drop.

"Boss, McGee and Abby have lost Ziva. Got to help them find her."

Gibbs looked at him. Tony shut up. He knew Gibbs would be able to see he was telling the truth. He just wasn't sure if his boss would think it was a valid reason for disobeying an order.

"Where?" he finally said.

"At that haunted house Abby wanted us all to go to. Remember? The one from the 1880s? She's been talking about it for weeks."

Gibbs started toward his desk, motioning for Tony to follow him. Tony told him what the others had said. Gibbs listened silently.

"You got the flashlights?" he asked.

Tony nodded. "I got one, boss.  
Gibbs finished his cup of coffee and threw the cup in the garbage, then took his gun out of the desk drawer and attached it to his belt. He started walking back to the elevator.

"C'mon, let's go. Should be a couple of flashlights in the car. You got the address?"

"Yeah, boss," Tony said, getting in the elevator right before the doors closed.


	3. Chapter 3

Summer of '46

-3-

Gibbs drove while Tony dialed McGee.

"Anything, McGee?" he asked.

McGee sounded even more worried if possible.

"Nothing Tony. Absolutely nothing. And it's freezing in there now. I took Abby out on the porch. It's warmer outside than in. When are you going to be here?"

"Right now," Tony said as Gibbs squealed to a stop behind Ziva's Mini-Cooper and Abby's hearse.

Gibbs popped the trunk and Tony got out the extra flashlight stored there along with the first aid kit. Gibbs raised his eyebrows when he saw the kit but then nodded at Tony. Tony hoped he didn't have to use it. Where the hell could Ziva be?

As they walked toward the porch Abby broke free from McGee and ran to Gibbs.

"Oh, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, we can't find Ziva!"

She flew into his arms and wrapped herself around him in a hug. Gibbs staggered a bit under the onslaught but then stood firm.

"That's why we're here, Abby. We're going to find her. If you let me go."

With one final squeeze Abby stepped away.

"I'm okay, I'm okay now. Let's go."

She ran back to McGee and grabbed his hand.

The four of them went back into the house and Tony immediately felt the change in temperature. The ambient temperature outside was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit; inside it must be close to freezing. He shivered and saw Gibbs turn up his jacket collar in the light of the flashlights they'd all turned on.

"Where'd she go, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

The younger man pointed toward a dark opening at the far end of the room.

"DiNozzo, you're with me. McGee, you and Abby go back out on the porch and call Ducky. Tell him to get here ASAP."

"Boss?"

Gibbs looked at his senior agent. He could see the worry in Tony's eyes for his partner.

"A precaution, DiNozzo."

Tony nodded and he and Gibbs set out down the hallway as McGee led Abby out the front door, his cell phone already at his ear.

###

The hallway seemed to swallow up their lights; only a few feet showed clearly in front of them as they cautiously made their way. Tony could swear it was getting colder. He knew Ziva hated being cold. He wished he'd brought an extra jacket with him. Gibbs didn't say a word as they walked. The hallway came to an end in a corridor running perpendicular to it. Gibbs pointed to the left for Tony while he took the right.

Freakin' Halloween, Tony thought as he walked. He hated freakin' Halloween. Weird, terrible things always happened on Halloween and now Ziva was caught up in one of those weird, terrible things. With every step he took he felt the knot of worry in his gut grow.

The corridor ended in a room without a floor. Tony, lost in his concern for Ziva, almost fell through the jagged opening. Holy crap, what happened here, he thought, then immediately thought of Ziva running blind in the darkness toward the sound of a woman screaming and wished he hadn't. He carefully knelt down on the floor, setting the first aid kit by him and crawled to the splintered boards marking the end of the flooring and shone the weak glow of his flashlight slowly around the hole.

He saw Ziva immediately. She lay on her side about 10-12 feet down. She wasn't moving. Tony flipped open his phone and called Gibbs. Or tried to call Gibbs. He had no service. He turned his head and yelled "Gibbs, here! She's here. Be careful!" He shoved the flashlight into the waistband of his pants then scooted around until he was feet first and slowly lowered his body into the opening, hoping the old floorboards would hold his weight while he controlled his fall. He dangled there for a moment and then let go.

He landed on his feet then fell back on his butt not far from Ziva. He crawled toward her.

"Ziva," he said getting close enough to touch her hand. It was icy cold. Tony felt frozen himself for a moment. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Oh God, oh God, not Ziva too, he thought, prayed, not my Ziva. He heard Gibbs talking and then his boss was there by them. He went around Tony and knelt by Ziva, putting his hand to her neck.

"She's alive, Tony. Pulse is strong."

Tony didn't move. He felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder. He looked up. Gibbs nodded and squeezed hard one time. Tony nodded and sat up straighter.

"Ambulance will be here soon, DiNozzo. Stay by her."

Tony moved closer, pulling off his jacket and laying it over her. He tenderly brushed the loosened curls away from her face. Now he could see her nostrils gently flaring as she breathed in and out. He ran a thumb gently over her cheek. Gibbs didn't say anything but stood and looked around the room.

"DiNozzo."

Tony looked up.

"Yeah, boss?"

Gibbs nodded toward the far side of the rectangular room. A skeleton lay there dressed in rags of what looked like black or dark blue in the weak light. There were a few wisps of dark hair still attached to the skull. Gibbs carefully walked around the body then knelt. He pulled a rubber glove from his jacket pocket and picked something up that lay with the body. He held up what looked like a chain with a rounded metal tag. He looked back at Tony.

"Looks like Ziva found us a case."

As soon as the words left his mouth Ziva moaned. Tony bent down close to her and whispered.

"Its okay, Ziva. We're here. Just lie still. Help is on the way."

Ziva opened her eyes and said, "Anna?"


	4. Chapter 4

Summer of '46

Summer of '46

-4-

Things happened fast after that. Tony propped Ziva up against his chest and held her while Gibbs came and checked her by pulling up her eyelids and shining the flashlight in her eyes. She murmured her unhappiness with the procedure. McGee and Abby came down the hallway and Abby had another mild case of hysterics when she saw Ziva and then the skeleton. Ducky and Palmer arrived with EMTs on their heels. A ladder was lowered. Ziva was swiftly examined, strapped into a gurney and then whisked away to the local ER, despite her loud protests to the contrary. Gibbs assigned Abby to go with her in the ambulance and got McGee to bring their equipment in from the car. Pictures were taken of the skeleton. Odd bits and pieces surrounding the body were bagged and tagged including a ragged black clutch purse and one mildewed ladies plain black leather pump size 7.

Tony finally got to examine the chain Gibbs had found with the body. It was a dog tag of some kind. He could make out a name, Anna Stein, and part of a serial number.

"Hey, boss. What kind of dog tag is this? Never seen one like it before."

Gibbs gave him the look, the one speculating on DiNozzo's intelligence level.

"They don't use them anymore, DiNozzo. It's Navy Nurse Corps from around World War II. Our DB looks like she might have been an ensign in the NNC."

Tony didn't ask how Gibbs knew what a 60-plus-year-old dog tag for the Nurse Corps looked like. He had long ago accepted Gibbs' omnipotence about all things Navy or Marine.

"Ducky?" Gibbs asked.

The M.E. looked over his shoulder at Gibbs.

"Jethro, this corpse has in all possibility been in this dank, dark room for decades. I know nothing yet except that from the size of the skeleton the victim was probably a female. I will know more, as you are well aware, when I get the body back to Autopsy."

Tony grinned. Ducky sounded pissed. But then Gibbs often had that effect on his staff during an investigation.

"Boss," McGee said.

Tony looked at his fellow agent as Gibbs snarled "What?" Tony knew part of Gibbs' bad mood was due to Ziva's ride in the ambulance. He felt anxious himself. Ziva had been making sense before she left and he felt sure she'd be fine but he couldn't deny the chill that had run through him when he realized the name Ziva had muttered as she came to was the name on the dog tag.

McGee pointed upward. The ceiling was still intact over the section of the room where the body lay. When Tony looked where McGee pointed he saw what could be the outline of a trapdoor.

"Could be how she got down here," the Probie said.

"Ya think, McGee? Go back up there and check it out. And watch your damned step!"

"On it, Boss."

Tony watched Ducky and Palmer fight a losing battle to place the skeleton in a body bag. They wound up having to just move it in sections. They placed it on a gurney and Palmer moved back to the ladder. With Tony's help the body got pulled up to where it could begin its real journey to the NCIS Autopsy Suite.

Suddenly there was a loud creaking sound and then dust and dead spiders began to fall from the ceiling. The old trap door swung open with echoing groans and McGee's face looked down at them.

Gibbs yelled up at him.

"Leave the damned thing open, put up the crime scene tape and come back down here."

Tim nodded and disappeared.

Gibbs jerked his head toward the ladder.

"Tape the whole damned house, DiNozzo."

"Where you going, Boss?"

"Going to see how Ziva is. You got a problem?"

"Uh, no, Boss. No problem. I'd, er, umm, kind of like to go too?"

DiNozzo made it a question/request. He really wanted to see how Ziva was doing but he didn't want to make Gibbs any madder than he was either. And he knew Gibbs would not leave McGee here by himself.

Gibbs' blue-eyed glare assessed him. Tony felt a flush start. What was with the hard stare? Ziva was his partner. He had a perfect right to be concerned about her. He stared back at Gibbs, swallowing hard as he did so.

"All right. You go check on Ziva. Call me when you know something. Get the walkie talkie out of the trunk first and bring it to me in case the cell phones quit working again."

"You got it, Boss."

Tony hurried up the ladder and passed Tim in the hallway on his way out to the car.

"Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah?" Tony didn't want to stop. He wanted to see how Ziva was doing.

"Does this place seem a lot warmer to you now?"

Tony stopped. Now McGee mentioned it, it was a lot warmer than it had been when he had come in just a few hours before. He checked his watch. Right at 3 a.m. Should be getting on to the coldest part of the night yet the house had gotten warmer. It had been icy when he'd found Ziva now it was just normally chilly for an unheated house in the cool night.

"Tell you what, McFrosty, you figure it out and tell me. I gotta go."

Tony got the equipment Gibbs wanted and then left for the hospital. He drove Ziva's Mini-Cooper. His knees were up under his chin the whole way.


	5. Chapter 5

I am uploading chapter 4 as chapter 5 because of some kind of mess up I had wherein...blah, blah, blah. I am sure no one is interested. I am sorry this will spoil the numbering of the chapters for folks. I truly apologize. But this is Chapter 4. So now Chapter 5 will come to you as Chapter 6.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to upload our danged stories. BLAPH

Summer of '46

-4-

Things happened fast after that. Tony propped Ziva up against his chest and held her while Gibbs came and checked her by pulling up her eyelids and shining the flashlight in her eyes. She murmured her unhappiness with the procedure. McGee and Abby came down the hallway and Abby had another mild case of hysterics when she saw Ziva and then the skeleton. Ducky and Palmer arrived with EMTs on their heels. A ladder was lowered. Ziva was swiftly examined, strapped into a gurney and then whisked away to the local ER, despite her loud protests to the contrary. Gibbs assigned Abby to go with her in the ambulance and got McGee to bring their equipment in from the car. Pictures were taken of the skeleton. Odd bits and pieces surrounding the body were bagged and tagged including a ragged black clutch purse and one mildewed ladies plain black leather pump size 7.

Tony finally got to examine the chain Gibbs had found with the body. It was a dog tag of some kind. He could make out a name, Anna Stein, and part of a serial number.

"Hey, boss. What kind of dog tag is this? Never seen one like it before."

Gibbs gave him the look, the one speculating on DiNozzo's intelligence level.

"They don't use them anymore, DiNozzo. It's Navy Nurse Corps from around World War II. Our DB looks like she might have been an ensign in the NNC."

Tony didn't ask how Gibbs knew what a 60-plus-year-old dog tag for the Nurse Corps looked like. He had long ago accepted Gibbs' omnipotence about all things Navy or Marine.

"Ducky?" Gibbs asked.

The M.E. looked over his shoulder at Gibbs.

"Jethro, this corpse has in all possibility been in this dank, dark room for decades. I know nothing yet except that from the size of the skeleton the victim was probably a female. I will know more, as you are well aware, when I get the body back to Autopsy."

Tony grinned. Ducky sounded pissed. But then Gibbs often had that effect on his staff during an investigation.

"Boss," McGee said.

Tony looked at his fellow agent as Gibbs snarled "What?" Tony knew part of Gibbs' bad mood was due to Ziva's ride in the ambulance. He felt anxious himself. Ziva had been making sense before she left and he felt sure she'd be fine but he couldn't deny the chill that had run through him when he realized the name Ziva had muttered as she came to was the name on the dog tag.

McGee pointed upward. The ceiling was still intact over the section of the room where the body lay. When Tony looked where McGee pointed he saw what could be the outline of a trapdoor.

"Could be how she got down here," the Probie said.

"Ya think, McGee? Go back up there and check it out. And watch your damned step!"

"On it, Boss."

Tony watched Ducky and Palmer fight a losing battle to place the skeleton in a body bag. They wound up having to just move it in sections. They placed it on a gurney and Palmer moved back to the ladder. With Tony's help the body got pulled up to where it could begin its real journey to the NCIS Autopsy Suite.

Suddenly there was a loud creaking sound and then dust and dead spiders began to fall from the ceiling. The old trap door swung open with echoing groans and McGee's face looked down at them.

Gibbs yelled up at him.

"Leave the damned thing open, put up the crime scene tape and come back down here."

Tim nodded and disappeared.

Gibbs jerked his head toward the ladder.

"Tape the whole damned house, DiNozzo."

"Where you going, Boss?"

"Going to see how Ziva is. You got a problem?"

"Uh, no, Boss. No problem. I'd, er, umm, kind of like to go too?"

DiNozzo made it a question/request. He really wanted to see how Ziva was doing but he didn't want to make Gibbs any madder than he was either. And he knew Gibbs would not leave McGee here by himself.

Gibbs' blue-eyed glare assessed him. Tony felt a flush start. What was with the hard stare? Ziva was his partner. He had a perfect right to be concerned about her. He stared back at Gibbs, swallowing hard as he did so.

"All right. You go check on Ziva. Call me when you know something. Get the walkie talkie out of the trunk first and bring it to me in case the cell phones quit working again."

"You got it, Boss."

Tony hurried up the ladder and passed Tim in the hallway on his way out to the car.

"Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah?" Tony didn't want to stop. He wanted to see how Ziva was doing.

"Does this place seem a lot warmer to you now?"

Tony stopped. Now McGee mentioned it, it was a lot warmer than it had been when he had come in just a few hours before. He checked his watch. Right at 3 a.m. Should be getting on to the coldest part of the night yet the house had gotten warmer. It had been icy when he'd found Ziva now it was just normally chilly for an unheated house in the cool night.

"Tell you what, McFrosty, you figure it out and tell me. I gotta go."

Tony got the equipment Gibbs wanted and then left for the hospital. He drove Ziva's Mini-Cooper. His knees were up under his chin the whole way.


	6. Chapter 6

Just a reminder: This is chapter 5 NOT chapter 6 despite what your alert says.

Summer of '46

-5-

Tony knew Ziva hated hospitals and was unsurprised when she was released after only a few hours as a patient. He thought maybe the doctors had released her early because they were tired of being cursed in Hebrew, Italian, French, Russian, and all the other assorted languages Ziva knew. He always felt she knew curses in languages she wasn't really proficient in because he knew she said things to him in languages he could not even begin to identify. He had been proud at one time he spoke 3 languages fluently but Ziva put him to shame. Sometimes the girl could be downright intimidating.

She didn't seem very intimidating now as she walked with him and Abby out into the early morning light as they made their way to the Mini-Cooper. Her normal honey-colored skin was pale and she let him put his arm around her in support without complaining or pushing him away. He opened the door for Ziva while Abby got in the backseat, sitting crossways since it was the only way she could fit her long legs in the small car. She held onto the back of the driver's seat, Tony's seat, as she kept up a running commentary on what the doctors had said, how long the MRI had taken, what they had given Ziva to eat and drink - nothing, and how she, Abby, had never left Ziva's side except to pee and to watch from the tech's room as the MRI was done.

The hospital staff had not wanted to release Ziva but she was conscious and alert with no sign of concussion so with the usual precautions and a promise from Ziva that if she felt dizzy or nauseated she would return to the ER she had been released. Tony didn't think Gibbs was going to be happy. Especially since both Abby and Ziva insisted on going into the office instead of letting him take Ziva home. The two women together were more than he could handle. Gibbs would have to sort it out if he wanted something else done.

The three of them went straight to Abby's lab when they got to work. Abby because she was sure Tim would have brought the evidence in for her already and she couldn't wait to find out more about the skeleton, and Tony because he was avoiding Gibbs. Ziva didn't seem to care where they went. Tony worried. Ziva always had an opinion, most often opposite of his, on everything, even where they went at the office. Maybe she did have a concussion?

Abby squealed her delight at the boxes sitting on the evidence table and immediately put on her rubber gloves.

"Oh yes, I do love me a good mystery. A skeleton in an abandoned house on Halloween with ghostly screams, a trapdoor and an injured beauty; what else could you want?"

Tony couldn't resist.

"What about the handsome agent who saves the injured beauty?"

He looked toward Ziva and winked. She just rolled her eyes.

"How about the handsome, INTELLIGENT agent who will really, ultimately save the day?" came McGee's voice from behind them.

Abby grabbed him as he came by and put another box on the table.

"Timmy! What'd you and Gibbs find out, anything besides what Tony already told us? This is the best Halloween ever, isn't it?"

She was hopping up and down first on one foot and then the other in her excitement.

"C'mon McGee, help me unpack this stuff so we can get started."

"Can't. Gibbs wants me on her paper trail, what there is of it after so long. I'll be upstairs. Maybe Tony and Ziva can help?"

McGee left the room and Abby turned to the other two.

"Hey, good, Ziva. You're already helping!"

Tony glanced at his partner. She had the baggy with the dog tag. Even as he watched she opened the bag, reached in and took out the chain and tag and held them in her hand. He felt a shiver. It was cold in the lab. He could swear he could see a small cloud of condensation as Ziva breathed out.

"Ziva," he said. "Shouldn't you put on some gloves to do that?"

Abby turned and tried to snatch the evidence back.

"Yeah, Ziva. You know better."

Ziva yanked her hand away, folding the chain tightly in her fist. She backed away from Abby slowly.

"Who are you? Why are you dressed that way?" Ziva said.

Abby looked down at herself. She still had on what she'd worn to their adventure last evening, a red t-shirt with a sequined bat on it and a black miniskirt. She'd worn black tights with glow-in-the dark bats scattered on them and her regular platform boots with the red trim. She thought she looked exceptionally cute.

"What way? What's going on, Ziva? Give me that back. You're getting your prints all over it. Not that there'd be viable prints anyway after so many years. C'mon…hand it over. Gibbs will be here in a few minutes and want to hear something informational and I got nothing so far!"

She held out her hand. Ziva backed a few more steps away from Abby. Tony got a bad feeling suddenly, something was going on.

"Ziva, what's wrong? Give Abby her evidence."

He walked toward her and she turned to look at him.

"Who are you people?" she asked.

Tony shared a look with Abby. This was so not good. Looked like he'd be taking Ziva back to the hospital.

"It's me, Zee-Vah…Tony. Your partner. Why don't you sit down for a few minutes and we'll get this all sorted out, okay?"

He reached to touch her and she jerked away and had such a look of fear on her face Tony stopped in his tracks. Ziva never looked afraid, especially of him.

"It's all good, okay? All good. No one's going to hurt you," he said.

"Yeah, Ziva, it's going to be all right. We're all friends here," Abby said from behind Tony.

Suddenly Ziva turned and ran around the other side of the table, away from Tony and Abby. Tony turned to follow her and ran into Abby.

"Move," he said and pushed Abby, none too gently out of the way. He had to get to Ziva.

She made it almost to the elevator before he reached her. He grabbed her arm fully expecting to be thrown to the floor by one of her martial arts moves but she only screamed and pushed at his hand, trying to dislodge it.

"Let go of me!"

Tony shook her slightly.

"Ziva, it's me. It's Tony."

"Why do you keep calling me that? Who are you?"

Tony shook her a little harder, pulling her to his chest. Her hand opened and the dog tag and chain fell and hit the floor with a metallic tinkle. He put his arms around her and held her tight to him so she wouldn't try to run again.

She looked up at him and said, "Tony, what are you doing?"

Then she slumped in his arms and he managed to keep her limp body off the floor just as the elevator doors opened and Gibbs came out.


	7. Chapter 7

Please remember, due to operator malfunction this is really chapter 6, not chapter 7 as it said in your alert.

Summer of '46

-6-

"What the hell?"

"Boss, I think Ziva needs to go back to the hospital. Something isn't right."

Ziva tried to push away from Tony's arms.

"I am fine."

"No, you're not, Ziva," Abby said as she came to stand in the doorway to her lab. "You are definitely not fine. You didn't know who we were. You asked me about my clothes! You ran away from Tony. You are not fine."

Ziva looked from Abby to Tony.

"I did that?"

Abby nodded.

Tony spoke up from where he still held Ziva in his arms.

"Yeah, you did. You didn't recognize your own name."

Gibbs came over and turned Ziva to face him. He looked in her eyes for a few moments and then made a decision.

"Take her down to Ducky, DiNozzo. Make sure he gives her an all clear. If he does, then and only then, Ms. David, you can go back up to the squadroom and help McGee. He just got the old paper file on Anna Stein from the NNC warehouse."

Tony escorted a silent Ziva to Autopsy.

"Well, I just called Jethro. I'm surprised to see you here so soon."

"You found something, Ducky?"

"Yes, Anthony. I did."

The elevator dinged again and Gibbs strolled out.

"What ya got, Duck?"

The M.E. led them to the metal table where the skeleton lay.

"I'm afraid, Jethro, we have two victims here, not one."

He indicated a small pile of bones on a second table. It was hard to make out what kind of bones they were except for one thing, a tiny human skull about the size of a golf ball.

"Our young woman, and she was definitely a woman, was about 5 months pregnant when she was struck on the back of her head resulting in a fracture at the base of the skull and then apparently thrown through that trapdoor to her death. I doubt if she ever regained consciousness."

Ziva sighed and Tony looked at her. Tears were rolling slowly down her face as she stared at the baby skull. He reached out a hand to her just as Ducky noticed.

"My dear, what's the matter? It's sad I know but this poor young woman and her child have been dead for six decades or more. Here, sit down."

He guided Ziva to the chair by his desk. Once she sat down he opened up the desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Glenfiddich and a glass. He poured her a tiny sip and handed her the glass.

"Here, drink this."

Ducky looked over at Gibbs and Tony.

"When was the last time she ate, do you know?"

Tony drew a blank. Gibbs slapped the back of his head.

"Uh, sometime yesterday maybe, Boss? I know we all had lunch together. Oh, and Abby said they didn't feed her anything in the hospital because they were afraid she had a concussion."

"Well, take her up to the squadroom and get her something to eat. And get the housekeeping people to check on the thermostats. It's freezing everywhere I go in this damned building," Gibbs said.

Ziva walked under her own power to the elevator. Tony didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He watched Ziva silently.

Suddenly, she reached over and hit the stop button and the elevator rattled to a halt. She didn't look at him as she spoke. She held her hands tightly together.

"Tony, something is wrong."

"Well, yeah, Ziva. I know."

"No, I mean something is wrong but it is not me. It is something…"

She stopped and looked up into Tony's eyes. He saw something there he'd never seen before. Uncertainty, fear, hesitation; all things he'd never associated with Ziva before. He reached out and took her hands, one in each of his.

"What is it, Ziva? You know you can tell me. What's got my ninja girl feeling this way?"

She looked down again.

"It is like there's someone else inside me, Tony. Someone who takes control and then it is like I am in a dark room and I can barely hear or see what is going on. What is happening to me, Tony? Am I going crazy?"

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her to him. This was bad, could be very bad. Freeing one of his arms he reached over and started the elevator again.

"Let's get you something to eat and drink first, Ziva, like Ducky said. Then we can talk some more. I don't know what's going on but we'll find out, okay? I got your six."

She nodded into his chest and then pulled away as the bell dinged and the door opened. He watched her walk out ahead of him, back straight, head held high.

He had to find out what was going on. It was scaring him too.


End file.
